Smudges on the shifter handle? Yes, sir! Dirt, wood chips, and tiny pebbles embedded in the carpet? You bet! A fresh layer of dust caked on the valve covers? Of course! When the task at hand is making a car look all pretty for photos, stuff like this can drive you nuts, and Randy Robison's '70 Mustang fastback is guilty of all three offenses. It even has a subtle-yet-peculiar wrinkle on the driver-side quarter-panel. For those who value pragmatism over pretentiousness, however, there's an endearing element of authenticity to all these quirks. You see, you'll never find minor blemishes like this in the typical checkbook machine because that would require actually driving the damn thing. In contrast, Randy drives his car often, he drives it hard, and he built it himself on a real working stiff's budget. While pricier g-Machines might flash more bling, this pony stomps them all with a big wallop of track-honed pedigree.

2/16Like the rest of the car, the interior boasts modern upgrades while retaining its old-school flavor. It features Procar seats, a Budnik steering wheel, Classic Instruments gauges, and a Hurst shifter. As for useless doodads like GPS and power accessories, forget about it.

If Randy added up all the receipts, he figures the total tally on this Mustang would come to roughly $35,000. Considering you can easily blow two thirds of that figure on a stock Mustang fastback, it's an impressive feat to say the least. Like most guys capable of pulling off such deft budget stretching, Randy started building cars at a very young age. "Both my dad and stepdad were into cars, and I grew up working on project cars and going on cruises as a kid. I built a '40 Chevy sedan when I was 14, sold it to my uncle, and used the money to buy a '64 Impala," he recalls. Although he was surrounded by Chevys, Randy soon got bitten hard by the Mustang bug. "I testdrove a brand-new '88 Mustang 5.0-liter in high school, and that got me hooked on Mustangs. That was the first new car that I bought, and I traded it my senior year for a '67 Mustang fastback. I ended up selling the fastback, and over the years I played with a couple of mod-motor Cobras and an SVT Lightning pickup."

Although Randy thoroughly enjoyed his late-model phase-strapping a ProCharger onto his Cobra and pushing it to 10-second e.t.'s-he yearned for the days of stomping the loud pedal in a proper muscle car. "New cars are comfortable and reliable, but they're not that interesting and there's one just like yours on every street corner. I love how you can personalize an old car, and even when I owned late-models, I really missed the muscle car experience," he explains. Consequently, Randy picked up a '67 Mustang coupe that he built up as another straight-line machine. Nevertheless, his heart ached for another fastback, and he wouldn't have to wait much longer for his dream to come true. "I went to the dragstrip one day and met David McMillan, who had a very nice '70 Mustang fastback. Even though it was a drag car, it was very tastefully built. It had a very nice stance, and it wasn't cut up or gutted. David and I became very good friends, and I immediately started pestering him to sell the car to me."
Like any skilled predator would, Randy pounced as McMillan experienced a moment of weakness. "He was having trouble installing a clutch in the Mustang, so I said that I'd take the car off his hands. He said he'd consider it, and I called him every day until he gave me the answer I wanted to hear," Randy says. The hard work paid off, as McMillan finally relented and Randy brought home his new ride. "Since my coupe was a drag car, my plan all along was to turn the fastback into a Pro Touring build. The car had a big cubic-inch Cleveland small-block and a Top Loader trans in it, but David was willing to sell it to me as a roller for $8,000 back in 1999. That was right before Gone in 60 Seconds came out and before the prices of fastbacks boomed, so if I bought this car two years later, there's no way I could have gotten it for so cheap. After the price of these cars skyrocketed, I was like Ricky Bobby in Talladega Nights and said 'Did that just happen?' I just didn't see it coming."

3/16Although the car was completed six years ago, Randy mixes things up when necessary to keep the overall look current. The fastback used to have taillights off of an ’05 Mustang, but when they started looking dated, he swapped in a set of ’69 model taillights. This change also required installing a ’69 model taillight panel.

These cars shot up in price out of nowhere. I'm lucky I bought it at the right time." -Randy Robison

Immediately after Randy rolled the Mustang into the garage, he built a 392ci Windsor small-block, bolted a Tremec five-speed stick behind it, and dropped in the new powertrain. The simple yet effective Windsor combo matches a Ford Racing block with a Scat rotating assembly, GT40 aluminum heads, and a mild COMP 224/230-at-.050 hydraulic roller camshaft. It's good for an honest 452 hp while maintaining perfect street manners. With the new motor and trans in place, Randy cruised around in the Mustang for five years until a trip to his first Goodguys show inspired a new wave of changes. "After I got back from Goodguys, I wanted a more balanced car with better handling and braking along with a new paintjob," he explains. Although the Mustang had a solid, rust-free body, some fresh sheetmetal was on Randy's wish list as well. "I like the front end of the '69 model Mustangs better than the '70 models, so I swapped in a new hood, fenders, and grille off of a '69. If I knew I was going to swap in a '69 model front end, I probably would have just got a '69 fastback to start out with, but I knew the history of this car and that was worth a lot. After bolting on the new front clip, I sent the car to Ray Mitchell in Forney, Texas, to apply a fresh coat of Cadillac Galaxy Silver paint."

After the car returned home from the paint shop, Randy got serious about transforming the Mustang into a full-blown Pro Touring machine. To help fund his vision, he sold his '67 coupe. Since staying on budget was imperative, Randy spent the money where it counted most. He retained the stock control arms, but lowered the mounting point of the upper arms for improved camber gain. To complement the revised geometry of the upper arms, Global West strut rods and a Baer bumpsteer kit were added as well. In order to achieve a menacing stance, Global West springs were installed on a set of roller perches. Out back, a fancy four-link setup was out of the cards, so Randy installed a set of Mustang Plus leaf springs. To enhance the Mustang's braking performance, a set of four-piston Baer calipers clamp down on 13-inch rotors at each corner, and sticking it all to the pavement are Wheel Vintiques rollers wrapped in Nitto rubber.

7/16To get the stance oh-so perfect, Randy chopped a coil off of the aftermarket lowering springs. The car looks like a ’69 model from the front, but the missing quarter-panel scoops hint that some sheetmetal swapping has taken place.

Not long after completing the Mustang's Pro Touring transformation, Randy made a return trip to the Goodguys show, but made sure to run a few laps around the autocross this time. As a former drag racer, he welcomed the new experience and is now determined to get better behind the wheel. "Don't get me wrong, I still love the adrenaline rush of drag racing, but autocrossing is much more laid back. It seems like the faster my car ran at the dragstrip, the more stressful it became," he recalls. "Parts are always breaking, it's usually too hot outside, and I felt like I had more fun drag racing when I had a 12-second car instead of a 10-second car. When you autocross, you can just focus on driving, the car doesn't break, the runs last longer, and it's just a more relaxed experience all around."

...you'll never find minor blemishes like this in the typical checkbook machine because that would require actually driving the damn thing.

Overall, Randy is very happy with the Mustang's performance, but like all hot rodders, he's hungry for more. "The car handles much better than stock, but the factory suspension geometry on these cars is atrocious," he quips. "I also own a '73 Camaro, and even with a stock suspension, that car drives just as well or maybe even better than the Mustang on the autocross. I found that very surprising, and it put into perspective how much more the Mustang's suspension needs to be improved. My plan is to get a complete Detroit Speed and Engineering front suspension setup as soon as possible."

When Randy isn't hanging it out on the autocross, he makes a dedicated effort to drive around town in the Mustang at least twice a week, taking it out to run errands or simply to cruise. He even takes it to shows from time to time, where it has won a fair number of trophies. Nevertheless, this is one Mustang that won't wow all the show car judges because it proudly bears one too many signs of wear and tear, most notably on the driver-side quarter-panel. "I got the car sideways at the end of the autocross run, and hit a cone at the finish line with the back of the car. As luck would have it, I hit the only cone on the track that had a PVC pipe and flag sticking out of it, which dinged up the quarter-panel," he laments. Although Randy isn't crazy about running around with a slightly blemished body panel, he should be proud that it got dinged in the first place. That's just what happens when you use a proper Pro Touring machine as directed.

8/16As no surprise, swapping a ’69 Mustang front clip onto a ’70 model is rather straightforward. Just get a ’69 hood, fenders, grille, and headlight buckets, and you’re in business. The flat black hood adds a nice balance of contrast.

9/16Many homebuilt cars look like a pack of Skittles exploded under the hood, but that’s not the case with this 392ci Windsor. Randy maintained a consistent silver and black color pallet throughout the engine compartment. The Total Control Products bracing ties the shock towers into the firewall for enhanced chassis stiffness.